They can't operate in NYS at all, at least not without safety drivers. They also can't operate a driverless taxi service at all without the city or state govern

They can't operate in NYS at all, at least not without safety drivers. They also can't operate a driverless taxi service at all without the city or state government passing laws. NYC/NYS is not the kind of place whose politicians are gonna stick their neck out and pull an Arizona early before the tech is proven, either. NYC is already one of the most regulated environments for taxis in the country, maybe the most. Details down to specific models and equipment and driver behavior and pricing are specified by law and enforced by the TLC, and no driverless taxi service could comply with them as they are written today. And if they did it using safety drivers, assuming the equipment complied with TLC regulations, they might have a hard time finding safety drivers willing to take the risk when they could just drive a normal cab. TLC licensed drivers have a lot of other requirements and liability and responsibility put upon them, and they cannot delegate that responsibility to anyone else. As just one example, if the Arizona wreck had happened in NYC, Cooper's Law would have required the safety driver to have their license summarily suspended until the investigation is complete, then revoked permanently if found guilty of ANY charge, even a minor one like speeding 2mph.